Hill poll shows Stephen Fincher with 10-point lead

The Hill newspaper is sending around the results of its polling in the 8th Congressional District that shows Republican Stephen Fincher with a 10-point lead over Democratic state Sen. Roy Herron.

Fincher leads 47-37 overall and holds a 53-23 advantage among independents. Both candidates poll in the 80s within their respective parties.

Complete poll results are available here. The Hill poll covers 10 races in total, and the Tennessee results start on page 41.

Update: Vanderbilt University professor Bruce Oppenheimer has taken a gander at the data and says the race might be closer than the numbers suggest. He points out that African American voters represented 10 percent of the sample but make up 22 percent of the 8th’s population, and he notes that a greater share of respondents (53 percent-32 percent) said they’d voted for McCain over Obama than actually did in 2008.